Election Myths

Myth: If you don't receive your ballot by 7 p.m. on election day, you won't be allowed to vote.

Fact: All voters in line at their proper polling place at 7 p.m. on election day will be allowed to vote, regardless of the length of the line.

Myth: You will not be allowed to vote if the address on your driver license doesn't match the address on your voter registration record.

Fact: The identification which is required and checked at the polls is used solely to confirm your identity, not to verify your identification number or address. The photograph on the identification is compared to the person standing before the poll worker and the signature on the card is compared to the voter's signature on the electronic precinct roster. You are required to vote in the polling place associated with your current address, but if your current address is not reflected on your driver's license, this will not prevent you from voting.

Myth: Voters need a reason to request a mail ballot.

Fact: Florida is a no-excuse mail ballot state. Any qualified (registered) voter is permitted to vote by mail under Florida law. However, the law now requires a written request signed by the voter if the request is to mail the ballot to an address other than the legal residence or the mailing address on file. This provision does not apply for absent uniformed service voters or for overseas voters. (FS101.62 effective 01/01/14)

Myth: If your house is in foreclosure, you are not allowed to vote.

Fact: If you are still living in your house, regardless of whether or not it has been foreclosed on, you can vote using the address of the house. If you have left your house, you can still vote, but you must change your address, either before election day or at your polling place, to the place where you now live.

Myth: If you are homeless, you are not allowed to vote.

Fact: A homeless voter is eligible to vote as long as he or she intends to remain in the locale and has an effective mailing address or a place where he or she can receive messages. The voter is assigned a precinct based on the location of this mailing address or designated place to receive messages.

Fact: All mail ballots which are received from voters by 7 p.m. on Election Day with properly completed voter's certificates are counted in every election. All early voting ballots are counted as each voter puts his or her ballot into the tabulator, in the same way as ballots cast at polling places are counted on Election Day. The tabulators accumulate all ballots cast, are closed out and results generated after 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Myth: Provisional ballots are not counted.

Fact: All provisional ballots are checked against the voter database and if it can be confirmed that the voter was or should have been duly registered, had not voted previously, and was in the proper polling place, the ballot is counted and added to the final results.

Myth: If you wear partisan or campaign attire to your polling place, you won't be allowed to vote.

Fact: Voters may wear t-shirts, buttons, hats, etc., which express their political preferences as long as they are not actively campaigning in the polling room or the no solicitation zone around it.

Myth: You must have your voter ID card in order to vote.

Fact: Your voter information card (it is NOT a voter ID card) is provided solely to verify your addresses and to inform you of your polling place and district assignments. This card is not required at the polling place and cannot be used as identification.

Myth: You can return your voted mail ballot to your polling place on Election Day.

Fact: Mail ballots can only be returned to the Supervisor of Elections office either in person by the voter or someone of their choice, or by mail. If you receive an mail ballot and then decide to vote at the polls, you should take your mail ballot to the polling place and give it to the poll workers, who will then allow you to vote a regular ballot.

Myth: If you owe back child support or having outstanding warrants, you will be arrested if you attempt to vote.

Fact: The voter rolls in each polling place have no indicator of whether an individual owes child support or has any outstanding warrants. In addition, state law prohibits law enforcement officers from entering a polling place without being summoned by the poll workers.

Myth: If you do not have sufficient postage on your mail ballot return envelope, it will not be delivered.

Fact: Ballots that do not have sufficient postage will be delivered by the postal service and any postage due charges will be billed to the Elections Office.

Myth: If you don't vote every two years, you lose your eligibility to vote.

Fact: If you do not vote and have not had contact with the elections office for a two year period, you will be mailed an address confirmation notice. If you return the notice, your registration remains active; if you do not return the notice or if it is returned to our office by the postal service as undeliverable, your registration will be put in an inactive status. Voters in an inactive status may still vote by simply confirming or updating their address at the polls or when they request a mail ballot. If your registration is in an inactive status and you do not vote in the next two General Elections (the November election in even-numbered years), then your registration is cancelled and you must re-register to be eligible to vote.

Myth: If you vote for too many candidates in a contest or don't vote in a contest, your entire ballot won't count.

Fact: If you do not vote for any candidates or vote for more candidates than are allowed in a contest, only that contest will be affected; any other contests in which you vote for the allowed number of candidates will be counted. In addition, when Early Voting or voting in your precinct, the tabulators will alert you that you have over-voted in a race, and offer you the chance to correct your ballot.